


Amongst the Trees, I Feel You Near

by courtneyyyliz



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Fluff, M/M, again with the young love, and again with I guess modern day cause they have cell phones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25537741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courtneyyyliz/pseuds/courtneyyyliz
Summary: Richie & Eddie meet and fall in love in a treehouse in the woods.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Amongst the Trees, I Feel You Near

When Eddie was 8 years old, he wandered into the woods behind his house (his mother wasn’t home, otherwise she would have freaked out). He stumbled upon a treehouse deep into the woods. It looked abandoned, but Eddie hesitantly climbed up the ladder to see if anyone was up there. When he reached the top, all he could see was a couple of old comic books and so much dust. It didn’t look like it had been used in years.

So, this treehouse became his sanctuary. When his mom was hovering too much, he would escape to the treehouse. When the bullies at school got to be too much, he would escape to the treehouse. He brought his books, and for a little while, he could imagine he was in another world.

*

Eddie had been coming to the treehouse for around 3 months now. It was almost October and the weather was starting to get cooler. Eddie brought some blankets from his house and a thermos of hot chocolate to enjoy during his time in the treehouse.

Eddie had just turned the page in in his book to start a new chapter when he heard some crunching come from the ground of the forest. He put his book down and looked out towards the forest. He couldn’t see anyone. Maybe it was just an animal.

He picked up his book and started reading again. A couple of minutes later, he heard another crunch. As soon as he placed his book down, he heard someone climbing up the ladder. He scooted to the back of the treehouse and pulled his blanket up to his mouth. He didn’t have anything to protect himself; last resort, he could hit the intruder with his book.

A head of dark, curly hair appeared and Eddie’s eyes widened. The intruder stopped and looked at Eddie with a confused expression. “Who are you?” he asked Eddie. 

“Who are you?” Eddie asked in retort. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? This is my treehouse!” the boy exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I stumbled upon this treehouse a couple of months ago. It looked like it hadn’t been used in years!” Eddie cried.

“Yeah, well, this is my family’s treehouse! My dad built it when I was 5!” the boy explained. 

Eddie paused, ready to pack up and apologize for trespassing, when he was interrupted by the boy. “You still haven’t told me your name.”

“Oh,” Eddie looked down at his hands. “My name’s Eddie.”

The boy looked thoughtfully. “I’m Richie.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Richie. I’m sorry for intruding on your treehouse. I’ll pack up my stuff and be out of your hair,” Eddie stated, as he started to fold up his blanket.

“Wait!” Richie shouted. Eddie looked up at him, alarmed. “You don’t have to leave,” Richie stated, finally making his way all of the way up the treehouse, sitting down. He pulled his backpack into his lap and started to unzipper it, pulling something out. “Do you like comic books?”

Eddie shyly smiled. “I love comic books. What do you have?”

*

Richie and Eddie started meeting in the forest twice a week, at least. 

Eddie found out that Richie was his age, but despite living across the other side of the forest, he went to a different school. Though he was loud and quite friendly, he didn’t have many friends. Eddie could understand that; he didn’t really have any friends either. His mother was very overprotective and didn’t want Eddie to leave her side. It was hard to make connections and keep friends with her hovering around.

So, Richie was his first real friend. The boy talked a lot, and Eddie was happy to listen to him. Richie told Eddie about his school and how he was viewed as the class clown; he liked telling jokes and playing pranks! Eddie shared with Richie how when he started to get closer to someone, he was afraid to have them over because his mother disapproved of anyone Eddie interacted with. It was hard for him to keep friends.

Richie could understand that - not many wanted to be friends with him.

*

Richie and Eddie were now 16 years old and have been meeting at the treehouse for nine years. They have grown close during their time meeting at the treehouse in the woods. 

It was Eddie’s birthday today, and to be honest, he wasn’t having the best day. His mother scolded him for waking up late and he missed the bus, so he had to walk to school. The day seemed to drag by - he just wanted to meet Richie at the treehouse.

When the last bell of the day finally rang, Eddie swiftly packed up his things and made his way out of the school. When he reached the forest, he felt a sense of relief - he was home.

When Eddie arrived at the treehouse, he saw Richie’s bike resting against the tree. That was odd; Eddie usually arrived first. He climbed up the ladder and was met with quite a sight - Richie was sitting on the floor, surrounded by balloons. He had one in his hand, stretching it out before bringing it to his mouth to blow it up. Eddie watched him for a couple of minutes. He felt lucky to call Richie his best friend; the boy cared about him so much. 

Eddie cleared his throat. Richie looked up at him with the balloon halfway blown up, still in his mouth. Eddie smiled, endeared by Richie’s efforts to make his birthday special.

“What are you doing, Rich?” Eddie asked, taking a seat on the floor of the treehouse. 

Richie let the balloon fall from his mouth. “I lost track of time!” he exclaimed. “I was trying to get the treehouse all decorated before you got here. I wanted to surprise you and have a little birthday celebration, just the two of us.”

Eddie blushed. Butterflies erupted in his stomach and he felt confused; this had been happening a lot lately. “Rich, this is amazing,” he reassured his friend, “But you didn’t have to do all of this for me!”

Richie looked at him dumbfounded. “Eddie spaghetti, you’re my very best friend. It’s my job to make your birthday special.”

Eddie felt shivers run down his spine. He blushed deeper and smiled at Richie. Richie returned his smile. “Happy Birthday, Eddie” Richie whispered. 

“Thanks, Rich,” Eddie replied. 

“Come sit with me!” Richie yelled. “I want to give you your birthday present!”

Eddie moved forward to take a seat next to his best friend. Richie turned his back to him and rummaged around in his backpack.

After a minute or so, Richie turned back around and presented a small package to Eddie. Richie smiled sheepishly. “It’s not much,” Richie mumbled.

Eddie took the package and smiled. He gently ripped the wrapping away and was left with a small box. He looked at Richie curiously. Eddie opened the small box and found a pin of a tree sitting inside. Eddie looked up at Richie expectantly.

Richie looked down at his hands. “I found it at the antique shop downtown. I thought you could wear it on your jacket or put it on your backpack and it would remind you of the treehouse...and me,” Richie sheepishly told him.

“Rich…” Eddie stared at him, with a small smile.

“I know, it’s silly,” Richie started. “I just saw it and it reminded me of you,” he stated nervously.

“It’s not silly,” Eddie quickly retorted. “Rich, it’s beautiful. I love it.” Eddie beamed up at him. 

“You do?” Richie asked, hopeful.

“I really do. It’s lovely,” Eddie comforted his friend. 

A smile bloomed on Richie’s face. “I’m so glad, Eds,” he stated, bashfully. “I have a cake too!” 

And with that, Richie distracted himself with cutting a slice of cake for Eddie. The rest of the night was spent eating, laughing and reading the latest comic that Eddie had picked up.

*

When Eddie got home later that night, he couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. Richie really was the best friend that he’s ever had. Butterflies kept flying around his stomach the whole night.

He opened his backpack to unpack it, and noticed an envelope sitting in between his notebooks. He pulled it out and saw his name written in Richie’s chicken scratch. He opened it, curious as to why Richie didn’t give this to him when he gave him his gift. 

He unfolded the paper and read.

_ Eds, _

_ First off, Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoyed the little party I threw you at the treehouse. I wanted to make you feel special on your special day. How did I do with the cake? Is your stomach ok? I had my mom help me, but we both know how I am in the kitchen. _

_ I have something that I want to tell you - that I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, but I’ve been too scared. I’ve almost done it so many times, but I’ve chickened out each time. I thought maybe writing it down wouldn’t be as scary, but my hands are still shaking writing this and thinking about giving it to you.  _

_ I’m sorry for keeping this secret from you for so long; I know we don’t usually keep secrets from each other. It took me a while to figure out what I was feeling when I was around you. And what I figured out is that I like you, Eds. Not just as a friend, I  _ like  _ you. I have ever since we met for the first time when you trespassed on my treehouse. You are the best person I have ever met. I’m so thankful we met all those years ago.  _

_ I don’t want this to come between us, but I understand if it does. If you give me a little time, I can try and get over it. I don’t want to lose you as a friend, my very best friend, but I won’t hold it against you if it’s too much.  _

_ Happy Birthday, Eddie Spaghetti. I’m so glad you were born. _

_ Yours, _

_ Richie _

Eddie was stunned. The butterflies in his stomach erupted again and everything started to make sense - that’s what he had been feeling for Richie. He  _ liked  _ him. He couldn’t believe it took him this long to figure it out. 

He smiled and formulated a plan.

*

_ Meet me at the treehouse. _

Eddie had sent that text to Richie 2 hours ago, and he hadn’t heard anything back from him; when he arrived at the treehouse, Richie wasn’t there.

Eddie was starting to get worried. Was the letter some kind of prank? No, Richie wouldn't do that to him. But where was he?

Eddie was just about to climb down the ladder and head home when he heard some curses come from the bottom of the ladder. He looked down and found Richie on the ground, rubbing his knee.

“You ok there, Rich?” he smirked.

Richie startled and looked up at Eddie. “I’m fine. Just busted my knee trying to get off my bike,” he blushed.

“Where have you been?” Eddie asked as Richie climbed up the ladder. “I texted you almost 3 hours ago!”

Richie sat down next to him and started playing with his fingers. “I had to convince myself to come,” he mumbled.

“It’s just me, Rich,” Eddie expressed. 

“But I gave you that letter…” Richie started.

“That’s what I wanted to talk about,” Eddie stated. He reached into his bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I wrote you my own letter,” Eddie smiled and handed the paper over to Richie. 

Richie cautiously took the paper from Eddie. He looked at Eddie timidly, then unfolded the letter and started to read. 

_ Richie, _

_ I’ll be honest, your letter surprised me. I hadn’t thought about the possibility of us before; well, not consciously. _

_ Rich, I’ve been getting butterflies around you for so long now and it’s confused me more than anything. Maybe it was just me not wanting to think about the possibility because I didn’t want anything to happen to our friendship. _

_ But, Rich - I love you. I love you as a friend, yes; a BEST friend. But I love you as more too. You make me smile and laugh like no one else I know. You’ve brought me out of my shell and I am so grateful that I stumbled upon your treehouse so long ago. _

_ So Rich, I just have one question - will you be my boyfriend? _

_ Yours, _

_ Eds _

Eddie had been holding his breath the whole time Richie was reading the letter. When he was finished, Richie looked up at him with crimson cheeks and glassy eyes.

“You mean it?” Richie asked.

“Of course, Rich” Eddie reassured him. “You’re my favorite person in the world. So, what do you think? Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Eddie saw a tear fall down Richie’s cheek. He reached up and wiped it away.

“I’d love nothing more,” Richie confessed.

Eddie smiled and put his hand on Richie’s cheek. “Can I kiss you?”

“Oh my god, I’ve been wanting that for so long, please,” Richie blurted out. 

Eddie giggled at Richie’s outburst and leaned in to place a soft kiss on Richie’s lips.

When the two parted, both boys couldn’t contain their happiness. They sat together, holding hands, basking in the joy they had found with each other.

After a few minutes, Richie let go of Eddie’s hand and turned to him with wide eyes. “Oh my god! We can wear couples costumes for Halloween now!” Richie exclaimed, excitedly. 

Eddie rolled his eyes fondly. What had he gotten himself into?


End file.
